Runtime versioning and distribution of dynamic web-elements

• US 8,490,077 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2008
• Issued: 07/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Miranda-Steiner, Emmanuel, Parsell, Ryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Do, Chat
• Assistant Examiner(s): CURBELO III, SERGIO JOSE
• Application Number:
  US12/121,379
• Publication Number:
  US 20090288077A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,888 Days
• Field of Search: 717/122, 717/148, 717168-178, 709220-227, 707609-686
• US Class Current: 717/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44536 Selecting among different versions

Abstract

A product server downloads distributed application component from a resource server and updates an application at a predetermined synchronization time. Other aspects include associating a distributed application component and a local application component with a virtual path. If a product server is unable to access the local application component with a virtual path, the distributed application component is downloaded from a resource server.

Claims

1. A networked computer system for updating an application, comprising:

a single resource server including a processor executing computer executable instructions for storing a plurality of distributed application components;

a plurality of clients, each client requesting a web page including an application component;

a plurality of product servers, each product server connected to one particular client and to the single resource server, and each product server including a processor executing computer executable instructions for;

hosting an application including one or more local application components, each requested local application component being associated with a corresponding distributed application component;

in response to the client request, the application requesting a virtual path for a local application component of the web page requested by the client, wherein the virtual path includes a version number of the local application component and a sub-directory for the local application component, and the virtual path is a unique identifier for the application component in an application'"'"'s cache;

using the virtual path to access the local application component from the application cache;

when the product servers are unable to access the requested local application component with the virtual path, each product server requests an updated version of the distributed application component associated with the requested local application component in from the single resource server;

downloading each corresponding updated distributed application component from the single resource server to each product server;

storing the downloaded updated distributed application component in an application directory of the particular product server and deleting the local distributed application component having an obsolete version stored in the particular product server, wherein the particular product server compiles the downloaded updated distributed application component stored in the application directory and copies the compiled version to the product server'"'"'s cache when the application requests the local application component;

the compiled updated application component is associated with a new virtual path having a new version number and a new sub-directory, wherein the new virtual path provides the resource server an indication of the most current version of the distributed application component and the deleted obsolete local application component is not associated with the new virtual path;

updating the application by requesting and downloading updated distributed application components at a predetermined synchronization time during a reoccurring window of time, and after a predetermined delay, installing each downloaded application component to the product server.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the predetermined synchronization time occurs on a regular basis.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

one of the plurality product servers, sending a version request to the single resource server, wherein the single resource server generates a list of the distributed application components and their corresponding distributed version numbers in response to the received request;

the particular product server, receiving from the single resource server the generated list of distributed application components;

the particular product server, downloading at least one distributed application component from the single resource server when the distributed version number does not equal the local version of the corresponding local application component of the particular product server.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of product servers each send the version request to the single resource server at a random or pseudo-random time within a predetermined reoccurring window of time.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the distributed application component includes one or more of the following:

data, a webform, a web control, data, a web page, a pre-compiled component and a just-in-time (JIT) component.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier of the application component in the application cache associated with the virtual path is broken when the sub-directory path is changed.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the application associated with the particular product server additionally includes one or more application components which do not correspond to distributed application components of the single resource server.

8. A method for distributing just-in-time (JIT) compilation components stored on a single resource server, comprising:

a plurality of product servers, receiving a request from a plurality of clients for a web page including a JIT component, wherein the requested JIT component is associated with a virtual file path, the virtual path is a unique identifier of the JIT component in an application cache and contains a token and is associated with a version number for the requested JIT component available on the single resource server;

the product servers, determining if a compiled version of the requested JIT component is stored in a cache of the product server, wherein the virtual path is associated with a requested JIT file of the single resource server and associated with a version number of the JIT file;

if the compiled version of the updated JIT component is not stored in the product server cache, then;

the product servers, downloading in a synchronized manner an updated JIT file from the single resource server at a predetermined time period;

the product servers, generating a new version of the JIT component by compiling the downloaded JIT file, the compiled new version of the JIT component having a new virtual path, the new virtual path having a version number of the new version of the JIT component, and the new virtual path associated with the compiled new version of the JIT component;

the product servers, storing the compiled new version of the JIT component in the product server cache, wherein the requested old JIT component stored in the product server cache is deleted when the new version of the JIT component is available on the single resource server;

the product servers, generating a response by executing the stored JIT component in conjunction with the requested web page by the client;

and the product servers, sending the generated response to the clients;

and if an updated compiled version of the JIT component is stored in the product server cache, then;

generating a response by executing the stored JIT component in conjunction with the requested web page, the response associated with the virtual path;

and sending the generated response to the client.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the requested JIT component stored in the cache is deleted in response to receiving a notification that a new version of the JIT component is available from the single resource server.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising sending, to the resource server, a version request at a random or pseudo-random time within a predetermined reoccurring window of time to determine if a new version of the requested JIT component is available from the single resource server.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the JIT component includes one or more of the following:

a webform and a web control.

12. A method for updating an application component from a single resource server, comprising:

a plurality of clients, each client requesting a web page including an application component;

a plurality of product servers, each product server connected to one particular client and to the single resource server, and each product server including a processor executing computer executable instructions for;

hosting an application including one or more application components, each requested application component being associated with a corresponding distributed application component;

in response to the client request, the application requesting a virtual path for an application component of the web page requested by the client, wherein the virtual path includes a version number of the application component and a sub-directory for the application component, and the virtual path is a unique identifier for the application component in an application'"'"'s cache;

using the virtual path to access the application component from the application cache;

when the product servers are unable to access the requested application component with the virtual path, each product server requests an updated version of the distributed application component associated with the requested application component from the single resource server;

downloading each corresponding updated distributed application component from the single resource server to each product server;

storing the downloaded updated distributed application component in an application directory of the particular product server and deleting the application component having an obsolete version stored in the particular product server, wherein the particular product server compiles the downloaded updated distributed application component stored in the application directory and copies the compiled version to the product server'"'"'s cache when the application requests the application component;

the compiled application component is associated with a new virtual path having a new version number and a new sub-directory, wherein the new virtual path provides the resource server an indication of the most current version of the distributed application component and the deleted obsolete application component is not associated with the new virtual path;

updating the application by requesting and downloading updated distributed application components at a predetermined synchronization time during a reoccurring window of time, and after a predetermined delay, installing each downloaded application component to the product server.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the application component includes one or more of the following:

a webform, a web control, data, a pre-compiled component and a just-in-time (JIT) component.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

periodically sending within a predetermined window of time a request to the single resource server for the most current version of the application component available on the single resource server.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the sending of the request occurs at a random or pseudo-random time within a predetermined reoccurring window of time.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the virtual path is a key to the application cache such that the key is broken when the application changes to a new version causing the sub-directory path to change.